Spinach and Tabouleh Salad

Spinach and Tabouleh salad is what happens when I get a craving for my favorite ingredients all at the same time.  As you may already know, I'm a HUGE spinach eater.  Blanched, baked or fresh, I'll eat spinach anyway, anyday, it's served to me.  I'm also a big fan of mushrooms.  In much the same way, I will eat them anyway they can be cooked.  Tabouleh or bulgar wheat is fairly new to me.  I've eaten it quite a bit over the last year, but not beyond the cold salad serving.  It has a mild nutty grain flavor that's makes it a versatile ingredient for other dishes.  But like I said, I haven't used it beyond the salad recipe.  I'm the only one in my house that will eat tabouleh,  that's the root of the reason why I haven't explored more dishes using it.  None the less, I like it!  And I KNOW I have SDR friends who like it, too.

HERE'S WHAT I THREW TOGETHER

• 2 cups fresh spinach, washed and torn into bite size pieces
• 1/2 cup white button mushrooms, cleaned and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup prepared tabouleh
• salt and fresh ground pepper
• drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Toss all the goodies in a medium bowl.  You're ready for a light lunch or healthy afternoon snack to tie you over until dinner.

If you like making tabouleh, what recipes do you suggest I try?  Got any that will win over a couple of picky eaters?  I'd like to know about them.  I don't mind eating alone, but it's more fun to share.

Jo’s Ducat Salad

This is a very nice salad that Jo fixes quite often for her pastors.

Salad

• 1 large container of Fresh organic baby greens

The following are amounts to your liking:

• Red Grapes sliced in half
• Avocado's peeled and cut into bite size pieces, sprinkled and tossed with lemon juice to prevent browning
• Bacon cut into 1-inch pieces and fried to a hard crisp

Dressing
On the reverse side of Good Season Italian dry salad dressing package is their recipe to make their dressing.  The only change you make to this recipe is to substitute the vinegar for balsamic vinegar, then make as directed. Let sit for 30 minutes before using.

Toss the greens with the dressing JUST before serving.  Then layer in order written.  You can plate the salad or make a large bowl.

Thank you for sharing your recipe, Jo K.!

Roasted Shrimp and Tabouleh Salad

Fresh, bright and super easy to bring together. This salad is delicious at room temperature and cold.

HERE'S ALL IT TAKES

• 1 box Far East Tabouleh Wheat Salad
• 2 to 3 green onions
• 1 small cucumber
• 1 large tomato
• juice of 1 medium lemon
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 (4 ounce) package crumbled Feta cheese

• 15 to 20 raw shrimp, shelled & deveined
• olive oil
• salt & fresh ground pepper

Prepare the tabouleh as directed on the package. This first step requires that the tabouleh sit in the frig for one hour, so account for that.  I started the tabouleh in the morning before my day got started. Anyhoo.

By dinner time: Heat the oven to 400ºF

Chop the green onions, cucumber and tomato into the same size small chunks and place in large bowl.  Set aside.

Place the shrimp on a cookie sheet, drizzle a little olive oil on top, season with salt and pepper.  Toss with clean hands until shrimp is well coated.  Distribute shrimp evenly on cookie sheet.  Roast for 6 to 8 minutes until shrimp is pink and opaque.  Allow to cool a few minutes before adding to salad mix.

In the large bowl with the onions, cucumber and tomato, stir in the shrimp, lemon juice, and oil THEN toss in tabouleh and feta.  Serve at room temperature or refrigerate it for later.

Awesome Fruit Salad

This AWESOME fruit salad is PERFECT on a hot day! It's really hard to stop eating it.

I threw this together to serve on the side of my experimental breakfast, whole wheat English muffins turned into French toast. (I'll tell you about them in the next post.)

There's just the right amount of sweet, juicy fruits and nutty pecans that keep you wanting another bite, then just one more bite, then one last bite, but maybe just another spoonful...

HERE'S ALL IT TAKES

• 1 normal size can of chunk pineapple, drained
• 1 small can of mandarin oranges, drained
• 3/4 cup frozen blueberries, slightly thawed
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup pecan pieces
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup golden raisins
• 1/4 cup sweeten coconut flakes

Mix it all into a large bowl and it's ready to serve. After a couple of hours in the refrigerator, it tastes even better! The blueberries turn the pineapple purple, but it actually looks pretty cool. Like a funky tie-dyed salad. The pecans and coconut soak up the fruit juices and become tender and yummier! This is the addictive part of the salad.

I thought I made enough fruit salad to last us a couple of days. It lasted one; from breakfast to dinner's dessert.

Caesar Chicken Salad

I enjoyed this salad for three days in a row! I changed up the salad dressing and shredded cheese topping each day, so I wouldn't feel like I was eating the same ol'salad.

I used the extra Caesar Chicken fillets from the night before to make this salad filling and keep away the hunger pains until dinner time.

LUNCH FOR 3 DAYS

• 1/2 head of dark green leaf lettuce
• 2 large carrots thinly sliced
• 2 to 3 green onions, thinly sliced
• Parmesan and/or cheddar cheese
• Briannas Homestyle Caesar dressing, Honey Mustard dressing, and/or Blush Wine Vinaigrette
• 3 Caesar Chicken fillets, sliced into bite size pieces.

Wash and prep the veggies; toss them together in a large bowl. Using 3 of your favorite lunch storage containers, pour 2 to 3 tablespoons of one dressing on the bottom of each container. Lay the chicken fillet pieces on top of the dressing. Next add as much shredded cheese as you like and top with tossed salad. Cover with a secure lid. Bag up a few of your favorite crackers, a napkin and a fork while you're in an assembly mood, just to save yourself time later.

You have lunch ready for the next 3 days! YEAH!!! When you're ready to eat, turn the closed container upside down and shake it like an Etch-A-Sketch.

You can mix up any of your favorite veggies to go with the Caesar chicken fillets. Chicken goes with everything!

Spinach and Roasted Garlic Salad

The roasted garlic is sweet and mild in this salad. And no, you don't the papery skin, eww!

The original recipe for Spinach & Roast Garlic Salad came from the Italian cookbook I keep mentioning. It called for toasted pine nuts. Unfortunately, they were burned in the toasting process and we had to get out the slivered almonds and make do. (Or is it 'make due'?) ANYHOO.

HERE'S ALL YOU NEED

• 12 garlic cloves (1 garlic bulb) , UNpeeled
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 pound baby spinach leaves
• 1/2 cup pine nuts or slivered almonds, lightly toasted
• juice of 1/2 large lemon
• salt & freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 375F degrees. Place garlic in a small baking pan, toss in 2 tablespoons of oil and bake for about 15 minutes, until the cloves are slightly charred around the edges.

Meanwhile, rinse spinach leaves and dry them with a salad spinner. Move leaves to a large serving bowl. Quickly and lightly toast nuts. Allow to cool slightly and sprinkle on top of spinach.

While still warm, pour the garlic in with the spinach, add lemon juice, remaining olive oil and a little salt. Toss well and add black pepper to taste.

Serve immediately, inviting everyone to squeeze the softened garlic puree out of the skin to eat.
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My Two Cents: PINE NUTS

TOTALLY OVERRATED NUT

First of all, I paid $3.33 for 1/2 cup. That was my first feeling of being taken for a ride.
I've never eaten them in my whole life. I've watched my favorite TV cooks talk about them as if rare treats. "So fun to toast up and always keep on hand." Up until this recipe, I thought I was really missing out on something.

Even though we (Anna & I) had over toasted the nuts, we were able to salvage a few for tasting. They are the most mild tasting nut. So mild, they border flavorless. This was when I felt the second wave of being taken for a ride. "THAT'S IT? What are all those TV cooks going on about?"

Almonds, pecans, walnuts, sunflower seeds, they have so much more to offer in a salad than pine nuts.

If you LOVE pine nuts, I'm sorry that I've hurt your feelings. I felt robbed after trying them and I just had to let it out.